In the primaries, political parties determine which candidates represent them in the Nov. 5 general election.
“We just really want to encourage people to get out and vote,” Summit County Clerk Eve Furse said. “The best way to make sure you have your candidate that you want to vote for in November on the ballot is to vote for them today.”
Besides the numerous state and federal Republican races, there are a few other races Summit County voters may see on their ballots.
Snyderville Basin Planning Commissioner Thomas Cooke and housing advocate Megan McKenna are running for the Democratic nomination to county council seat C.
South Summit residents will choose which two of the four candidates vying for school board seat 2 advance to the nonpartisan general election.
And Summit Park Democrats will choose between tech executive Jeff Howell and entrepreneur Hoang Nguyen for Utah House District 23.
There are three ways to vote: mailing in a ballot, putting it in a Summit County dropbox or going in person.
To vote by mail, ballots must be postmarked by June 24, the day before the primary.
Dropboxes and polling places are the only options on the day of the primary, June 25.
Democratic primaries are open. That means all registered voters can request a Democratic ballot, regardless of party affiliation.
Republican primaries are closed, reserved for registered Republicans and unaffiliated voters.
“If you're an unaffiliated voter, which there are a very large number of in Summit County, unaffiliated voters still can affiliate as Republican,” Furse said. “To do that they would have to come and vote in person.”
Residents can only vote in one party’s primary.
Furse said, of those Summit County residents who have received primary ballots, 20% had voted as of June 24. She’s expecting similar turnout to the last three federal primaries, which saw about 45% voter participation.
KPCW will share preliminary results of Tuesday’s primary when they become available. Results will also be posted on the Summit County clerk’s website and the state lieutenant governor’s website.
The primary results will be made official at a special county council meeting Tuesday, July 9.
More information is available at summitcounty.org/elections and vote.utah.gov.
